Novak Djokovic has had a poor 2024 season so far with no Grand Slam wins. Visibly upset, the NoleFam took to X recently to show their support and provide arguments to suggest he is still the King of Tennis. One stat in particular was posted by a Djokovic superfan named Pavvy G, which boldly claimed that Djokovic could’ve won 30 Grand Slams till now. But the million-dollar question is – ‘Could he have actually done that?’
The Serb gave a rare walkover to his opponent Casper Ruud in the French Open 2024 quarter-final. He had suffered a knee injury and was exhausted from his fourth round match finishing at 3:07 am. It is a pity since Djokovic had won two back-to-back stunning matches against Lorenzo Musetti and Francisco Cerundolo after being 2 sets behind.
Now, his fans have used that very factor to blame the French Open organisers. They also point out that had the Grand Slam been more efficient with its scheduling, Djokovic could’ve been fit and progressed more in the tournament. While it’s a bit far-fetched to say he would’ve defended his title from 2023 surely, Pavvy G dug up old records to suggest that there are 6 such examples that Djokovic missed out on due to unfortunate reasons.
Djokovic could and should have even more Grand slams;
2020 Wimbledon cancelled.
2020 USO defaulted for accidentally hitting someone.
2020 FO rescheduled just 2 weeks after the US Open.
2022 AO Unlawfully deported.
2022 USO Banned from playing.
2024 FO forced to play after 3am.— Pavvy G (@pavyg) June 4, 2024
While many in the NoleFam understandably backed Pavvy G’s claim, there were other tennis enthusiasts as well as fans of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who did not agree with it at all.
Federer should have won atleast 10 more slams
2011 wimbledon : Unexpected loss in early rounds
2010 US open : lost after a match point
2011 US open : lost after a match point
2018 wimbledon : lost after a match point
2009 US open : should have won 3-0
2019 Australia Open :…— KP (@kamal_1111) June 4, 2024
If if pic.twitter.com/qdVJSv2eYf
— KP (@kamal_1111) June 4, 2024
Don’t be a fortune teller.
— mrshaggy_14 (@mrshaggy_14) June 4, 2024
No way Djoko would win Roland Garros this year, even before this injury his performance was not on the same level as alcaraz sinner or even zverev
— Gabriel (@6gaba123) June 5, 2024
The NoleFam may have been partially correct in pointing out that Djokovic has been unfortunate. But it is a bit over the top to suggest he would’ve gone on to win on all those occasions.
A Realistic Look at Novak Djokovic’s Supposed 6 Missed Opportunities
The 2020 Wimbledon Championships, which was mentioned first in the post, was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, no player could take part. Even if it wasn’t cancelled, it is presumptuous to suggest that Djokovic was the only possible title contender at that time with 8-time champion, Roger Federer also being in good form at the start of the year.
At the 2020 US Open, Djokovic couldn’t control his anger at losing a point and therefore that blame cannot be put on the organisers and chair umpire for imposing a default and disqualifying him.
The 2020 French Open, as claimed by the former World No.1’s many fans, was scheduled right after the US Open. While this was an unprecedented situation in the history of men’s tennis, the fact that a man who is just 1 year to Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal won the title. Interestingly, Nadal hardly played any professional tennis leading up to the Grand Slam and still had to work hard to beat Djokovic in the finals.
The 2022 Australian Open and the 2022 US Open were indeed unfortunate sagas, which gave birth to claims that the ATP is against Novak Djokovic. Djokovic was deported from Australia and banned from entering the United States for failing to qualify for a medical exemption for unvaccinated visitors. Therefore, he could not secure his visa on time on both occasions.
Finally, in the French Open 2024, it wasn’t just Djokovic who was exhausted and bothered by the late-night finishes. Other players too suffered. Therefore, it would be unfair to say that Djokovic would’ve definitely won it.
To summarise, yes it’s true that Novak Djokovic was unfortunate to miss out on a few opportunities. But so did other players in their careers. Djokovic would now aim to win the Olympics 2024 if he does not get fit in time for the Wimbledon 2024 Championships.
